


A Few Good Moments

by Aussienick1999



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Not Canon Compliant, Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-06-08 09:10:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6848401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aussienick1999/pseuds/Aussienick1999
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short series of moments between Harry and Ginny. (Minor canon divergence)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The window of Ron’s bedroom gave a good view of the Burrow’s yard, which gave Harry a clear view of Ginny sitting by herself. Harry watched silently as she picked at the grass absent-mindedly. He’d hardly spent any time at the Dursley’s, and had eagerly accepted Ron’s offer to come over. It hadn’t taken him long to notice how Ginny avoided the rest of her family. She would come down for meals, but she would spend the rest of her time alone in her room or outside.

Harry hated seeing her suffer. He hated imagining the torment that she must have been putting herself through. Despite not talking to her much during the year, on account of Ginny’s shyness, he couldn’t help but like her. Whenever he looked out the window and saw her sitting alone, he felt sick inside. Her parents and brothers had all tried to speak to her, but she’d shut herself away from everyone.

It couldn’t go on, Harry told himself. He’d thought about trying to talk to her many times in the week he’d been at the Burrow, but he’d hesitated; how would her parents or her brothers feel if he somehow made her feel worse?  
  
But he couldn’t just sit and do nothing while Ginny shut herself away from the world. He’d ask Mrs Weasley first, and then try to talk to Ginny.

Mrs Weasley was downstairs doing the dishes by hand. She could easily enchant them to clean themselves, but Harry knew she was trying to keep herself occupied.

“Mrs Weasley,” Harry said quietly, suddenly feeling very nervous. “I wanted to ask you something.”  
  
Mrs Weasley glanced over at him, and managed a smile. “Of course, Harry. What is it?”  
  
“I wanted to ask if I could try talking to Ginny,” Harry said quickly. “I wanted to ask you first, because she’s part of your family, but I don’t want to just sit around with trying to help her.”  
  
Mrs Weasley’s smile, while sad, widened. “That’s very kind of you, dear. I’m grateful for the offer.”  
Harry took that as position and nodded his thanks before heading out the back door and walking toward Ginny, who sat alone with her back turned to the house.

The grass muffled his footsteps, and Ginny didn’t seem to hear him as he got closer. She must have felt his presence though, because she glanced over her shoulder and quickly looked away.

Harry stood awkwardly for a moment, unsure of what to say.

“Is it okay if I sit down?” he asked quietly, crouching down in the grass next to her. Ginny didn’t say anything, but she did give a tiny nod of her head. Harry sat down on the grass next to her, hoping that simply being there would prompt her to speak.

They sat in silence for a while, the seconds passing agonizingly slow for Harry. He glanced at Ginny, who was doing her best to hide her face without turning away from him. He looked down at her hands, which she held in front of her. Not knowing what else to do, he gently took on of her hands in his. To his relief, she didn’t pull away.

“You know, when I saw you,” Harry said softly, “down there in the Chamber, I didn’t know if you were still alive or not and I was just…so afraid.”

“For Ron’s sake?” Ginny asked. It was the first time she’d spoken all week, so to Harry it was an improvement.

“For yours,” Harry corrected. “I was scared for you Ginny, honestly. Not just because you’re Ron’s sister, but because I like you, Ginny. Even when you got all nervous when I was in the room, I wanted to be your friend. I wanted to be with you during your life. When I saw you lying in that Chamber, I couldn’t stand the thought that your life would end like that.”  
  
Harry’s heart was pounding as he confessed some (but not all) of the feelings he had kept hidden from everyone else. Someone during his confession, Ginny had started crying.  
  
“You almost died because of me,” she whispered, still unable to meet his gaze. “When I woke up and saw that you’d gotten hurt because of me, I was so afraid of losing you. Then I felt selfish later, that I’d hurt so many people and all I could think about was that you’d die because of me.”  
  
“It wasn’t your fault, Ginny.”

“How was it NOT my fault?” Ginny said, using her free hand to tear at the grass furiously. “Dad always told me to be careful around stuff that could talk to you, but I didn’t listen. I let _him_ make me do those things.”  
  
“Thousands of adult witches and wizards were corrupted by Voldemort,” Harry reasoned, ignoring Ginny’s shudder at the name. “There was nothing you could have done, Ginny. It was just bad luck.”  
  
Harry let go of her hand and put his arm around her shoulder. “Let me be your friend Ginny. Please, just let me help.”  


“I...” Ginny began in a shaky voice, but she never finished that sentence, because the next thing Harry knew she had thrown her arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder. He put his other arm around her, hugging her tightly. They had shifted positions, and Harry could see Mrs Weasley watching them from the kitchen. Despite the distance, Harry was sure he could see her crying as well, but smiling all the same.

Harry managed a smile too. Ginny’s previous nervousness around him might have just been a childhood crush that she’d grow out of, and while the thought made Harry nervous, he was still glad that he could at least be her friend.


	2. Chapter 2

Ginny ran as fast as she could, despite slipping and falling on the stone floors of the castle several times. She’d have bruises on her knees afterward, but she couldn’t have cared less.

Harry’s fall during the match had been one of the most terrifying things she had ever witnessed. Even though Dumbledore had saved him from hitting the ground, and she had seen him faint from the Dementors before, she couldn’t help but fear for him.

She finally caught up with the others at the hospital wing. She had no doubt which bed was Harry’s; why else would there be a crowd around a lone bed at the end of the room.

She was quite small, but thankfully the crowd pushed aside to let her get closer. When she finally got to Harry’s bedside, the crowd had fallen silent.

“Why isn’t he awake yet?” she asked, to nobody in particular.

Nobody answered.

She stayed by his side long after the others were gone. Harry’s broomstick had been left with her, so that _she_ could break the news to him that it now lay in splintered twigs wrapped in a blanket. She looked down at the bundle next to her, the largest surviving parts of the broomstick poking out of the blanket. She shuddered at the thought of Harry suffering the same fate.

She looked back at Harry, who lay unmoving. Resting her head on his chest, she listened to his heartbeat to make sure he was still alive. Despite everyone’s assurances, she couldn’t help but feel afraid. What if they were wrong? What if he didn’t wake up? She wouldn’t know what to do then. Harry had been the best friend she’d ever had during the year. He had to come back.

She almost jumped when he let out a low, almost inaudible groan.

“Harry?” she whispered as his eyes slowly opened and closed. “Harry?”

“Ginny…” Harry murmured. “Where…what happened?”

“You fell off your broom,” she whispered. “The dementors, those things were everywhere.”

She shuddered, remembering the gloominess that had seemed to permeate the air when the dementors had swarmed the Quidditch pitch.

“I…fell,” Harry repeated groggily. “Did anyone get my broomstick?”

Her face fell. “I’m sorry, Harry. There’s not much left…”

She carefully picked up the bundle from the floor, handling it with care even though the broomstick was useless. Harry was so groggy all he could manage was a heavy sigh.

“I’m sorry Harry,” Ginny said. She tried to think of something that would comfort him, but there was nothing. His broomstick had been expensive (although money wasn’t an issue for Harry), and it had also been one of his most prized possessions.

“It’s okay,” Harry said gloomily. “I can buy one during the Christmas holidays. I’ll just have to use one of the school brooms in the meantime.”

“Those things are awful,” Ginny said. “You won’t win a game on those things.”

Harry shrugged. “I don’t really have a choice. Besides, everyone else has to buy their own broomstick. Why should I be the exception when I’m hoarding a life’s fortune?”

“Harry,” Ginny said, almost exasperated, “your parents left you that money. They would have wanted you to keep it.”

“They wouldn’t want me to hoard it,” Harry countered. “There’s more money in that vault than I’ll ever need, while your parents barely have enough to manage. Hoarding that type of money is the type of thing the Malfoys would do.”

“You’re nothing like the Malfoys,” Ginny said. “Having money doesn’t make you a bad person. The Malfoys think that having money makes them superior. You don’t.”

“Only because I didn’t know about it until I was eleven,” replied Harry. “I don’t want being rich and famous to get to me.”

“It hasn’t,” Ginny told him. “And it won’t as long as you don’t let it. After what your aunt and uncle did to you, you deserve a break.”

Harry rubbed his forehead. “Thanks Ginny. But don’t worry about asking me for a loan from time to time. I’d rather that money go to someone who deserves it.”

Ginny blushed a little. “Thanks Harry.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Harry, what’s wrong?” 

He had spent the entire Sunday in the common room, refusing Ron and Hermione’s invitations outside. Everyone else was outside as well, leaving Harry alone. 

Everyone except Ginny, that is. 

“It’s nothing, Ginny,” Harry replied. 

“As if,” Ginny countered. “Hermione told me that you went into Hogsmeade with her and Ron yesterday, but she won’t tell me what happened.” 

“It’s nothing.” 

Ginny sighed. “During the summer, you asked me to let you help me. I was ready to keep it all bottled up, but you got through to me. At least let me be there for you.” 

Harry sighed. He didn’t want to push his burdens onto anyone, especially not Ginny. But he couldn’t keep it in. He had to talk to someone. 

“Sirius Black’s my godfather,” he finally whispered. 

Ginny gasped. “What? But how? He didn’t know your parents, did he?” 

“Oh he knew them,” Harry replied. “Went to school with them as well. They trusted him and he…” 

“He what?” Ginny asked. Harry looked at her, and something in his face must have given it away. “No…”

Harry nodded. “He sold them out to Voldemort. They trusted him and he sold them out!” 

The previous day’s anger had returned, and Harry couldn’t blame her for recoiling a little. He took a few breaths and calmed down. “I’m sorry. It’s just…I’ve never been this angry before.” 

“It’s okay,” said Ginny quietly. “Listen, do you want to go for a walk? Being alone up here must be pretty boring.” 

His anger subsided, he managed a smile. “Yeah, that’d be great.” 

The snow was difficult to walk through, but neither of them cared. They passed groups of students having snowball fights, and joined in with Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George. He’d felt sick and hateful for most of the day, but by the end of the afternoon he felt much better. 

As they made their way indoors to dinner, someone bumped into roughly, throwing him off balance and almost knocking Ginny over. 

“Having fun with your girlfriend, Potter?” Malfoy sneered, jumping in front of them to block their path. “Figured you would have gone for that Mudblood Granger, but I guess a blood-traitor is pretty much the same thing.” 

“Go away, Malfoy,” Ginny said, glaring at him.

Malfoy smirked. “Need to hide behind your girlfriend now, Potter? Although it’s not surprising, I suppose. Have all the filthy blood traitors and Mudbloods fight your battles for you. Not bad, Potter.”

“Piss off,” Harry snapped at him. 

“Language, Mr Potter,” said a familiar unpleasant voice. Professor Snape appeared behind Malfoy with his usual look of hatred. 

“Malfoy insulted Ginny,” Harry said angrily. “He deserves it.” 

“Be that as it may, Potter,” Snape said nastily, “that does not give you the right to use vulgar language in public. Ten points will be taken from both of you.” 

“What?!” Ginny said. “We didn’t do anything!” 

“For your outburst, Miss Weasley, another ten points will be taken from Gryffindoor. Any more cheek from either of you, and you’ll find yourself in detention.” 

Snape turned and walked away. Malfoy smirked and followed him back toward the Great Hall, leaving Harry and Ginny stunned and outraged. 

“That git,” Harry said. “He can’t talk to you like that.” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Ginny told him. “Nothing we can do about it.” 

“He picked on you because you were with me.” 

Ginny shrugged. “He picks on anyone who isn’t a Slytherin. Don’t worry about it. Fred and George have lost more points at once than that.” 

“Sounds like you want to break their record,” Harry said, smirking. 

Ginny laughed. “You already did last year. I’d rather not lose 150 points in one year, thank you. C’mom, dinner should be ready by now.” 


	4. 4

Ginny smiled when Harry sat down next to her at breakfast, although she couldn’t help but feel nervous whenever he was around. She was acting like an eleven-year-old again, blushing madly whenever he so much as smiled at her. 

“Hey,” she said, already feeling herself go red in the face. 

Harry suppressed a laugh. “Ginny, your face is redder than your hair right now.” 

“Don’t draw attention!” she said, slapping him on the shoulder. “I’m about to run away from embarrassment!” 

Harry gave a mock pout. “You’re embarrassed to be with me? Ginny, you’re breaking my heart.” 

Ginny blushed even more. 

“Ginny,” Harry said, lowering his voice so that he wouldn’t be heard above the chatter in the Great Hall, “I wanted to ask you something. The Yule Ball’s coming up, and well…I need a partner…” 

Ginny suddenly realized exactly where he was going with this, and she didn’t know whether to feel excited or mortified. 

“What I’m trying to ask is…well, would you like to go with me?”    
She saw it coming, but that didn’t stop her from stammering. “Harry…y-you really want to go with me?” 

“Who else would I want to go with?” Harry asked. 

“Well,” Ginny stammered. “I figured…maybe Hermione.” 

“I did consider asking Hermione,” Harry admitted. “But she’s going with someone else, and to be honest I really want to go with you.” 

Now that her shock had begun to subside, she could finally speak properly. “Ron will murder you if he finds out.” 

“Not if he wants that Galleon back that I owe him,” said Harry with a smirk. 

Ginny raised her eyebrows. “Where did Ron ever find a Galleon, and why would he let you borrow it?” 

Harry shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, does it? But if there’s someone else- “

“No,” said Ginny quickly. “No, there’s nobody else. Harry, I’d love to go with you.” 

Relief flooded Harry’s face. Ginny hugged him out of sheer excitement, which earned them a few glances. Ron glared at him from down the table. 

“We shouldn’t tell Ron,” Harry said quickly. “Wait until the Ball and see his reaction.” 

“He’ll have a fit!” Ginny protested, but unable to keep from laughing. “Good idea!” 

The weeks between then and the Ball went incredibly quickly. On the night in question, Ginny nervously tried to compose herself in her dormitory. For the fifth time, she examined herself in the mirror, wondering if she’d meet Harry’s probably-high beauty standards. 

She sighed, realizing her moment of stupidity. “I know him. He’s not a snob.” 

Ginny trembled as she made her way down to the Great Hall where she knew he’d be waiting. The older students were already making their way down, some pointing her out and whispering. A few that she knew complimented her and she thanked them, while still feeling sick to her stomach. 

Finally, as she made her way down the grand staircase toward the Entrance Hall, she spotted him at the bottom of the stairs. He was dressed in emerald green robes that matched his eyes, and looked as pale and nervous as she felt. His eyes drifted up the staircase to rest on her, and she trembled violently and slipped on the stairs. 

Harry rushed forward and caught her before she fell. Needless to say, she felt incredibly embarrassed as she regained her balance. 

“Sorry,” she said, blushing madly. 

“That’s okay,” said Harry nervously. “Nervous?” 

“Yeah,” she admitted. “What about you?” 

“My legs feel like they’re about to give out, so that’s a yes,” he said, to which both of them laughed. “You look amazing.” 

“Thank you,” she said, going even redder. “You look great too.” 

“Thanks,” he replied. “Oh God, Ron’s here.” 

Ginny hadn’t even turned around before she heard her brother make a choking noise. When she did turn around to face him, Ron was staring at them with a pale face and a slack jaw. She burst out laughing. 

“Ginny!” Ron choked out. “Why didn’t you say-?” 

“It was worth it,” Ginny said, breathless from laughter. “C’mon, Harry.” 

They slipped away to a table after the other couples had started dancing. Ron joined them, looking incredibly sulky. Ginny guessed it was a combination of not finding a date to the dance, her not telling him that she was going with Harry, and the ugly-looking dress robes their mother had sent him. 

“You don’t even like dancing,” Ginny told him. “You realize having a partner would mean you’d have to dance?” 

Ron just shrugged. 

They danced again, this time more confidently, then left the Great Hall for the privacy of the gardens outside. Most couples were either dancing or had gone to bed, leaving them alone. 

“Thank you for coming with me,” Harry said as they sat down. 

“Thanks for inviting me,” Ginny replied. “I wouldn’t have been able to come since I’m in my third year.”

They sat in silence for a moment. Ginny noticed an odd expression on Harry’s face, as if there was something on his mind. She was about to say something when he spoke. 

“Ginny,” he said slowly and thoughtfully, as if he was considering his words carefully, “there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you for awhile now…”

Ginny’s heart suddenly began beating very fast, but she forced herself to remain calm. She thought she knew where this was going, but she didn’t want to get her hopes up. 

“What is it?” she asked, as Harry struggled to find the words. 

“I-I don’t really know how to say it,” he said finally. 

She was certain she knew what he was about to say, but she still had that sliver of doubt. 

Harry sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I’m sorry, Ginny. I just...this isn’t easy for me to say.” 

Ginny took both of Harry’s hands in hers, and said, “I think I know what you want to say.” 

He looked her straight in the eye, and for a moment they seemed to communicate without speaking. Then he nodded. 

With the last sliver of doubt gone, she kissed him. Everything around them seemed to melt away. The gardens, and time itself, were like a long-forgotten memory, irrelevant in the moment. 

When they finally broke apart and came back to reality, everything was still and silent. Both of them were trembling. 

“I love you,” Harry whispered. 

Ginny’s heart threatened to burst right there. “I love you too.” 


	5. Chapter 5

“Should we tell Ron?” Harry asked. 

“He’ll murder you,” Ginny said. 

“He’s my best mate,” said. 

“And he’s also my brother,” Ginny replied. “He’ll kill you.” 

“What happens if he finds out?” Harry asked her, examining the golden egg on the table in front of them. “He’ll lose it if we keep it from him.” 

“He’ll lose it either way,” Ginny told him. “Besides, you’ve got the egg to worry about. Still no luck with it?” 

Harry shook his head. “No, I’ve tried listening to it. If there’s anything under that screaming, I can’t hear it.” 

“Try it again,” Ginny suggested. 

Bracing himself, Harry opened the clasp on the egg and the room was suddenly filled with ear-piercing screams. They both resisted the urge to cover their ears and listened for any kind of sound. 

“Close it!” Ginny shouted. Harry quickly closed up the egg and the room became silent again. “Did you hear anything?” 

Ginny shook her head. “No. It’s just screaming.” 

Harry sighed. “It doesn’t make sense.” 

“What about Diggory?” Ginny suggested. “You tipped him off about the dragons. He owes you.” 

“Maybe,” Harry said, “but it feels like cheating to having someone else solve it for you. And I got tipped off about the dragons by Hagrid, remember?” 

Ginny nodded, and looked back at the egg. “I’m going mental up here. Why don’t we go for a walk? Maybe we’ll get an idea.” 

Harry supposed it couldn’t hurt. He agreed, and they made their way down to the lake, taking the egg with them. 

“Maybe it can’t be opened indoors,” Ginny murmured, stopping by the edge of the lake. “Try it now.” 

Harry opened the clasp again, only to find that the shil screaming was somehow amplified out in the open. Harry dropped the egg in surprise, and it rolled into the lake. Immediately,  the sound disappeared. 

“Hold on,” said Ginny, kneeling down next to the glowing egg. “That sounds like voices.” 

Harry knelt down and listened. It did indeed sound like voices, but they were too muffled. 

“It can only be heard underwater,” he realized. “One of us has to go under to hear it.” 

“Well go on then,” said Ginny.

“Why me?” 

“It’s your egg!” 

Harry gave a mock pout before taking a deep breath and lowering his head under the water. A few moments later, he resurfaced.

“Ginny, do you have a quill or anything?” he said between gulps of air. “I need to write this down.” 

They returned to the common room where Harry wrote down the song he’d heard from the egg. Ginny read through it. 

“So they’ll steal something from you,” Ginny said. “I’m guess they’ll hide it in the lake, and you have to get it back before your hour’s up.”

“But how am I meant to breath underwater for an hour?” Harry asked. 

“Don’t Muggles keep records of that sort of stuff?” Ginny asked. 

“Yeah, I heard something on the news about someone who could hold their breath for twenty minutes, but I might need the full hour to complete the task.” 

“Well there’s obviously going to be spells that you can use,” Ginny told him. “Hermione probably knows plenty. And maybe there’s a plant as well. You could talk to Neville.” 

“Yeah, maybe,” Harry said. 

“Harry, you’ve got that hopelessness in your voice again.” 

Harry ran a hand through his hair and sighs. “What if I just forfeit? If I can’t do the task, they can’t make me compete, can I?” 

“I don’t know if they’d let you,” Ginny said. “They might just dock points from you.”

“What if I got myself hurt?”

“No!” said Ginny sharply. “I won’t let you hurt yourself, Harry. What if it goes wrong and you get killed? Besides, you can’t give up now. Not when you’re on top of this.” 

“What if I don’t want to go through with it?” Harry asked rather angrily. “Ever since I’ve got here I’ve just wanted to have a normal year without having something life-threatening thrown at me. I’m tired of danger following me everywhere and getting people hurt! Look at what happened with the diary, Ginny. Voldemort nearly killed you because to get to me. How long before you or someone else gets killed because of this?”

People in the common room began to look their way, but Harry didn’t care. 

“Harry,” said Ginny quietly, “you never asked for any of this, I know. And I won’t pretend I can understand what it’s like. I know that if he does come back, I might be at risk, and I think Ron and Hermione know that too. So why do you think we’ve all stayed?” 

Harry looked away. “I don’t know.” 

“Because you’re worth it,” Ginny said. “If people didn’t think you were worth the risk, people would leave you. But you are worth it, it’s why Ron and Hermione and me and everyone else have stayed with you. Because we don’t care about the risk, Harry. We care about you. You got me to open up when I wouldn’t talk to anyone, and look at where we are now because of it. People like you are worth that risk.” 

For the first time ever, she saw him cry. Harry wiped a few tears away. “Ginny, I don’t know how to keep going like this.” 

Ginny nodded. “Then...if you really don’t want to do the second chance, then I’ll stand by you.” 

“Thank you,” Harry said quietly. “Ginny, what would you do?” 

Ginny had to think about that for a moment. “Well, I’d be scared for sure. But if I were in your place? Well, look how well you did on the first task, Harry. I’d look at my options before I gave up.” 

The portrait door swung open, and Ron and Hermione walked into the common room. 

“What are you two doing inside?” Ron demanded. 

“Solving the egg,” Ginny replied. 

“Oh, really?” Hermione said eagerly. “How?” 

Harry explained how he’d dropped the egg in the lake and heard the song underwater. He handed her the parchment with the song on it and she read it three times. 

“Please tell me you know some way of breathing underwater,” Harry pleaded. 

Hermione frowned. “There are a few spells, but they’re very advanced. You might be able to learn them in time-”

“Then what are we waiting for?” asked Ginny impatiently. 

“-but you’d have to abandon everything else,” Hermione finished. “I’m sorry Harry, but this tournament wasn’t meant for fourth-years after all.” 

“So basically my options are to forfeit the tournament or ignore everything else,” said Harry bitterly. Hermione gave him a guilty look. 

Harry exchanged a look with Ginny, which Ron unfortunately noticed. 

“Hey, what’s going on?” he demanded. “What were you two talking about before we walked in?” 

Hermione sighed. “That’s their business, Ron.” 

“We’re his best friends!” said Ron to Ginny. “Why is he telling you stuff and not us?” 

“Maybe because I’m his girlfriend,” said Ginny calmly. 

Ron froze. “What?!” 

“I think we’ll go for a walk,” said Harry quickly, leaping out of his seat and following Ginny out of the common room at a sprint. 


	6. Chapter 6

Nobody spoke another word about Harry and Ginny’s relationship, at least not in Ron’s presence. Ron and Harry had non-verbally agreed on a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, where Ron never brought up their relationship and meanwhile Harry and Ginny would act like friendly strangers in his presence. It was exasperating to Harry, Ginny, and Hermione, but it was better than causing an argument.

“What’s his issue?” Ginny said for the sixth time at breakfast. “It’s not like I need protecting or anything. You’d think he’d be happy that I was dating you instead of some Slytherin jerk.”

“It could be because of age, maybe,” Harry suggested. “A lot of Muggles would say thirteen is too young to be dating.”

“Sure, plenty of wizards think that too,” replied Ginny. “But Ron’s not like that. If you were dating anyone else he’d be asking you for advice. He’s only got a problem with it because I’m his sister.”

“And he’s not entirely wrong,” Hermione said. “Look, I’m really happy for both of you. But just look at it from his perspective for a moment. Plenty of adult relationships don’t work down, and a lot of kids get into relationships that don’t last. If you guys start fighting, he’ll have to make a decision about whether to support his sister or his best friend. Imagine if you had to do that, Ginny.”

Harry and Ginny exchanged guilty looks. “I guess we didn’t think of that,” Ginny said, looking flustered and embarrassed.

“Look,” said Hermione hesitantly, “don’t take this the wrong way guys, but maybe it’d be better if you guys...well, took things slow for awhile.”

“You mean break up,” said Ginny angrily.

“For the time being,” Hermione replied. “At least let Ron warm up to the idea first.”

“We’ve been dating since the Yule Ball,” Harry reminded her. “We can’t exactly just stop and pick things up months later, Hermione.”

“I know that,” said Hermione, exasperated, “but Ron doesn’t know that. Let him get used to the idea first and I’m sure he’ll relax.”

Harry and Ginny both left for the Quiddich pitch after breakfast. As they were a year apart and didn’t have classes together, they didn’t see each other much other than on weekends.

“She’s not wrong,” Harry commented eventually. “We haven’t really been fair on him.”

“I don’t want to act like our relationship is some dirty secret,” Ginny countered. “When the year ends, I want my family to know about the good times we’ve had instead of hiding it because Ron doesn’t want to face it.”

“So do I, Ginny. But it makes sense that Ron’s concerned. You are his sister, and we’re both pretty young. Your parents will probably handle it better, but they’ll be concerned too.”

Ginny snorted. “As if. My parents adore you.”

“Well, if you say so,” Harry said hesitantly, not wanting to outright agree with her out of fear of looking vain.

Ginny suddenly looked angry. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she demanded.

Harry suddenly realized his mistake. “No, I mean-”

Before he could stammer out an explanation, he noticed the ghost of a smile on her face. Realization must have shown, because she then burst out laughing.

“That’s not funny,” Harry said resentfully, but unable to keep from smiling as Ginny rolled around on the pitch laughing.

They stayed like that for a full five minutes; Harry standing there looking reproachful while Ginny tried (and failed) to keep a straight face. Finally, Ginny managed to stand up without bursting into laughter again, and they both mounted Harry’s broomstick and took off around the pitch.

“You should try out for the team next year,” Harry shouted above the wind. “We could get you a broomstick and practice during the holidays.”

“Broomsticks are expensive though,” Ginny replied.

“I have the money,” said Harry.

“We’ve had that discussion already,” countered Ginny.

“Birthdays don’t count,” Harry told her. “I can spend as much on you as I like.”

“I love you, you know that?”

“I love you too, Ginny."


End file.
